Gertrude Chandler Warner was born in 1890 in Putnam, Connecticut, where she taught school and wrote The Boxcar Children because she had often imagined how delightful it would be to live in a caboose or freight car. Encouraged by the book's success, she went on to write eighteen more stories about the Alden children. Anne Yvonne Gilbert is an artist and illustrator whose work runs the gamut from children's books and postage stamps for the Royal Mail to posters and record sleeves. Her children's book contributions include illustrations for the Ology series, and her original artwork is held in many private collections, including those of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the late HRH Princess Margaret. Gretchen Ellen Powers is an artist, illustrator, curious heart and avid pencil user, residing among the tall trees of Michigan. She loves to bring her illustrated creations to life, and her characters soon become her dear friends. It is her greatest hope to tell a story through her brush.